One-piece pneumatic sound maker with vibrating reed



March 19, 1957 w TR S 2,785,507

ONE-PIECE PNEUMATIC SOUND MAKER WITH VIBRATING REED Filed Feb. 24, 1955 ATTORNEYS ONE-PIECE PNEUMATIC SOUND MAKER WITH VIBRATING REED G'eorgeWintriss, Carversville, Pa.,' assiguor to Wintriss Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 24, 1953, Serial No. 338,226

9 Claims. (Cl. 46-180) This invention relates to pneumatic reed noise makers such as are used with horns, rubber toys, and other articles, for producing noise When air moves into or out of the article. Such noise makers are commonly referred to asfvoices.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved construction and method of manufacturing reed noise makers of this character so as to reduce their cost. This is particularly important in the case of toys so that reed noise makers can be used with low cost toys.

One feature of the invention relates to the construction of the noise maker, including the vibrating reed, from a one-piece blank, and another feature relates to the punching of the blank and the striking of the reed in a single operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank and reed embodying this invention,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the blank shown in Figure 1, with the punching and forming dies shown diagrammatically,

Figure 3 is an enlarged, perspective view of the reed and the portion of the blank immediately surrounding the reed,

Figure 4 is an end view of the blank shown in Figure 1, but with the opposite end sections bent upwardly, and

downwardly, respectively,

Figure 5 isa perspective view, partly broken away and in section, showing the completed pneumatic noise maker of this invention, and

Figure 6 is an end view of the structure shown in Figure 5.

The blank 10 shown in Figure 1 is punched from sheet metal stock which may be brass, steel, or other material depending upon the nature of the noise maker which is to be constructed from the blank. Brass is commonly used, with a thickness of from 0.002 to 0.010 inch. Thicknesses of about 0.005 inch are well suited for most pneumatic noise makers of the kind to which this invention relates.

The blank 10 includes a main panel 11 and side panels 12 and 13 which extend from opposite sides of the main panel. There are end sections 14 and 15 extending from opposite ends of the main panel 11. A reed 17 is struck fromthe mainpanel, preferably at a center region'of the main panel. This reed is punched from the sheet on three sides but one end is left connected to the panel 11. The position of the reed 17 with respect to the panel is best shown in Figure 2.

The portion of the reed near its connection to the panel, which portion may be referred to as the neck 18 of the reed, is preferably of reduced thickness so as to make the reed vibrate more freely. This reduced thickness of the neck 18 is obtained by coining the reed at the neck, the amount of coining being determined by the intended pitch of the noise maker.

In order to reduce the manufacturing cost to a minimum, the blank 10 is punched from sheet stock 20, be-

tween dies 21 and 22, and the reed 17 is struck from the blank and coined in the same operation and by the same dies 21 and 22 that punch'the blank from the sheet stock.

The end section 14 is bent upwardly and the other end section 15 is bent downwardly, as shown in Figure 4. The side panel 12 is then bent upwardly as indicated by the arrow 25, and is arched across the top of the main panel 11 as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines. The other side panel 13 is bent downwardly, as indicated by the arrow 26 and is arched under the main panel 11 into the position indicated by dot-and-dash lines.

This produces the construction shown in Figure 5. The panels 12 and 13, together with the end sections 14 and 15, form a housing in which the main panel 11 is a partition. The panel 12, arched across the top of the main panelll, forms a tunnel for air which passes the reed 17 and through the opening 28 which is formed by the striking out of the reed. This tunnel is closed at one end by the end section 14. A similar tunnel under the main panel 11 is formed by the panel 13 and this lower tunnel is closed at one end by the end section 15.

In order to obtain this construction, it is necessary that the side panels 12 and 13 be wider than the main panel 11 so that when the side panels are bent across the main panel, they contain enough material to form an arch with clearance under it for the passage of air. In order to have the end sections 14 and 15 close the tunnels formed by the side panels 12 and 13, it is necessary that the free edges of each of the end sections 14 and 15 have a length equal to at least the width of the side panels 12 and 13. The end sections can be larger than this, but the resulting construction is not so neat or compact as that disclosed in the drawing.

In order to make the invention with metal that is springy, corrugations 30 and 31 are formed in the panels 12 and 13, respectively, at the time that the blank is cut out between the dies 21 and 22. In the construction illustrated, there are three corrugations in each of the Another expedient that is used, when constructing the invention of springy metal, is the provision of prongs 33 along the outer edges of the panels 12 and 13. Slits 35 are formed in the main panel 11 in position to receive the prongs 33 of the side panels 12 and 13. For

example, when the panel 12 is bent upwardly and arched over the top of the main panel 11, the prongs 33 extend into the slits 35 on the right-hand side of the main panel 11. Similarly, when the side panel 13 .is bent downwardly and arched under the main panel 11, the prongs 33 project upwardly through the slits 35 on the lefthand side of the main panel 11.

Ridges 37 and punches 38 on the die element 21 project into the complementary depressions in the other die element 22 to form the corrugations 31 and slits 35.

Since the effort of the arched panels 12 and 13 to spring back 'to'bends of longer curvature is not a straight Patented Mar. 19, 1957 eyeseor m .QPPQSite ld rlil5 L s. P nels b in t e. L 'anel Qforj bending in ;opp0-, osit ns, J arching across ,thexmain s 'rp, ssage onhopposite sidcseof themain panel reed, ;and end sections extending ,fromszo opposite ends of the main ,panel, the.section at onewend, of t Pane bein p a s ew enbem downw ly to close: theend pf the ;spa ce between, the main. panel and L i/"embed ai e .-P n .,.ar :hed va s the lunden side of it he mains paneldand the section at the other .endof the "mai n panel being of a'size vwhenvbentupwardlyt to r 9f the space between the maimpanel and de end arched across. t l pp si e cfrthee Ihe methgd ohmaking a pneumaticlsoundlmaker which comprises forming a one,piece ,sheet .metal;blank with a main panel and a side panel extendingiromvat least one side; of the, main. panel, strikingta reed from the mainpanel, leaying the reed connected with the sheet metal bl k at one, end of thereed, and thereafterbending, the. s de panel upwardly and arching it acrossthe main panel to form, a tunnel for air across a surface of i the main panel -from which;,the reed is struck. 4 i

3. The method of manufacturing a pneumatic sound maker as described in claim 2, characterized by punching 40 the blank from sheetstock and striking the reed from the rnain panel in the same operation that punches the blank from the sheet stock. i

4. The nethodpf manufacturing a pneumatic sound maker as descrihedin clairnl, characterized by -punching the blank from. sheet stock and striking the reed from the main p anel in the sameoperation that punches the}: blank f-r.0 J{1,. e,sheet,stock, .and further characterized by coining the reed near.li.ts connection with "the main panel f. and in the sa nqoperation that punches the-blank f-roni the sheet stock.

5. The me th od of making a pneumatic sound'maker which comprises, punching, from. sheet stock, a" one piece" blallg ha pga.Innin panel,- side panels extending from opposite of thernainpanel and of greater'width' than the ma ;.panel,, an d.endsections extending from opposite ends of, theumain panel with the free end of each of the end sections a curved edge having a length" subst tiallyqufillq the Width of one of the sidepanels,

and stri ing a reed from thehmater ialof the main panel wither end of the reed stilliconnected to the panel, the striking of th,l'd ,b6il1g performed in the same operation as the punching of the blank from the sheet stock, and thereafter bending. one side panel upwardly and archingjt across the mainpanel to form a tunnel for air across the surface. of the main panel from which the reed is struck, similarly bending the other side panel downwardly and arching itacross.the under side of the main panel to form a tunnel for air, and bending one end ,Seg iqnl pwardly and, theothermend sectionsdowne -n wardly to close the different tunnels at different ends of the sound maker.

6. A pneumatic noise maker comprising a sheet metal main panel with a reed made from the material of the main panel and still connected with the main panel at one end of the reed, two side panels, one of which is of one-piece construction withieach sideedge of themainr panel, one of the side panels being arched over the top surface of the main panel, and the sother of,said side panels being arched under the surfacevof the main panel, circumferentially extending corrugations in the sheet metalwin both of the aarched sidepanels for stiffening the arched panels against openingpp efthe arched form of the panels.

7. A one piece sheet metal, pneumatic sound maker including a main panel with side panels on opposite sides one. of the side. panelssextendingr upwardly-- from its juncture ,with the main panel and a then inan=-arch oventhe main panel to theother sidelof the main panel -v tonform ,an air passage over the main panely and --the other side panel extending downwardly from its juncture with the {main paneland then in an inverted arch under theamain paneltlto the other side of the-main panel to formanv air. passage over the main panel, and a reedmade of the. sheet .metalof the main panel and connected with the main panel'at one end of thereed be tween the. air passages, the reed being of one piece construction with:the .main panel and the other parts of thesound maker.

8. The sound maker described in clairn- 7 with end sections extending from opposite ends of the main panel 1 andvlarge enough to close the end of the spacebetween the main panel. andtthe arched side panel, one of the end sections extending upwardly and the other end sec-- tion extendingdownwardly.

9. Al pneumatic sound maker comprising a single' piece of sheet metal having a mainpanel, a reed made of the sheetmetal of the mainpanel and separate from U the main panel except at one end of the reed, the end of the reed adjacent its connection with the main panel being, of reduced thickness to increase the flexibility of that end of the reed, side panels extending from oppo: sitessidestof the-main panel one of the side panelssextendingwupwardly from its juncture with the 'main panel and then in an arch across the top of the main panel'to forrnan air passage on one side of the main panelya d theother side ,panel extending downwardly and, the r an inverted arch under the main panel to form an airpas -g sageaonthe-other sideof themain panel,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED 'STATES PATENTS 

